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This Aug. 20, 1970 file photo shows Charles Manson, head of the cult the Manson Family being escorted by deputy sheriffs on his way to court, in Los Angeles, Calif., after being charged with murder-conspiracy in the Tate-LaBianca slayings. (AP Photo/FILE)

The grandson of Charles Manson is asking a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to grant him the right to claim the mass murderer’s body and his estate.

Jason Freeman, the son of the late Charles Manson Jr. and the grandson of Manson and his first wife, Rosalie Willis, filed documents with the probate court Friday, seeking control of his grandfather’s estate, his attorney Alan Davis said.

Freeman’s claim comes as a legal battle begins over what to do with Manson’s remains and who has rights to what he’s left behind.

Freeman’s lineage is disputed by Matt Lentz, a Los Angeles musician known as Matthew Roberts, who says he is the killer’s son and has a will, allegedly signed in 2017 by Manson, according to The Associated Press. Lentz wants a DNA test of Manson’s remains, which are still being held by the Kern County sheriff-coroner, to prove he is kin and Freeman is not.

Meanwhile, Michael Channels, a 53-year-old Santa Clarita resident, met Manson in prison in 2002 after sending him more than 50 letters. Several months after their meeting at the Corcoran State Prison in the Central Valley, Channels said he received a will that bequeathed the notorious serial killer’s possessions to his pen pal. Channels must file his claims, in response to Davis’ documents, by Friday.

The battle is just getting underway after Manson’s death on Nov. 19 from heart failure in a Bakersfield hospital.

On Jan. 26, a judge will determine a proper venue for the next court hearing.

“At issue is whether the legal wrangling should be in Kings County — where Manson had been imprisoned for decades — or in Los Angeles County, where he lived before he was originally sentenced for masterminding the killings of nine people. In his filing on Friday, Freeman’s attorney, Alan Davis, argued for L.A. County.”

On the night of Aug. 9, 1969, from a ranch on the northern end of L.A., Manson dispatched a group of his devoted fanatics on a murderous frenzy that shocked the world. Manson, a wanna-be rock star who had a way of attracting followers to what ultimately would become a murderous cult, has remain etched in the popular culture for decades.

Among the seven victims of the two-day burst of violence was actress Sharon Tate, the wife of director Roman Polanski, who was eight-and-a-half months pregnant.

After nearly a half-century in the Corcoran prison in Kings County, Manson, 83, died of cardiac arrest and respiratory failure, triggered by colon cancer.

It might take a few weeks for a judge to decide who will control Manson’s estate, which consists of commercial rights to his name, image and personal items that can earn thousands of dollars from collectors of his memorabilia.

Experts say a person who controls the right will have the power to authorize biographies or documentaries about Manson. And that could be a gold mine.

“A lot of people are doing this for the money,” said Jack Barcal, who teaches at the USC Marshall School of Business and specializes in probate and trust law. “If somebody would have a book or movie on Manson’s life and that could be worth a fortune. All these people are doing this because they think there is some value there. When it comes to money, money talks.”

It was unclear just how much Manson’s estate could be worth. In the past, Manson’s royalties proved to have some value.

Manson nurtured ambitions to become a folk rock artist in the late 1960s. He was an acquaintance of Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson in 1968, and the band recorded a variation of a Manson song under the title “Never Learn Not To Love.”

While in prison, Manson released two albums. One of the songs was later covered by Guns N’ Roses on their “The Spaghetti Incident?” album.

In 1993, Bartek Frykowski, the son of a man who was slain with Tate and others, collected $133,000 from Geffen Records after it released that Guns N’ Roses album.

The band drew fire after it became clear that the song, known as “Look at Your Game, Girl,” could fetch the mass murderer about $62,000 for every million copies of the album.

Rock singer Marilyn Manson invented his stage name by borrowing the last name of the mass murderer.

In the early 1990s, Charles Manson, who served a life sentence for the murders, received 10 cents on each $17 T-shirt, produced by a Newport Beach firm, featuring his likeness on the front and a sign that read “Charlie Don’t Surf” on the back.

Santa Clarita resident Michael Channels displays a copy of Charles Manson’ s 2002, last will and testament leaving Channels all of Manson’s possessions and custody of his body. Tuesday, December 12, 2017. (Photo by Dan Watson / SCNG)

Channels, who represented himself in court last week, said he was told by the judge to hire a lawyer. But Manson’s pen pal for 30 years said he was not able to find an attorney who would agree to represent him in court.

“I called about 50 lawyers and half of them would hang up on me and another half would laugh at me,” he said in a phone interview. “But I’m not giving up.”

Channels added that he was not interested in any monetary value Manson’s possessions might have.

“I don’t want any money from this,” he said.

Manson reputedly had a son with Mary Brunner, an early member of his cult. Michael Brunner has severed ties and made no apparent claim to the estate, according to reports.

In the will filed by Channels, Manson disinherits both Brunner and Charles Manson Jr., who killed himself in 1993.

Davis said he is confident his client Freeman has everything to win the “convoluted” case.

“We have a sufficient precedent,” he said. “If the judge decides to keep the Los Angeles venue, he will grant us the remains.”

Olga Grigoryants is a multimedia reporter focusing on urban development, business and culture. She also supports the paper in its watchdog role to hold San Fernando Valley power players accountable and loves digging for public records. After studying writing in Moscow, she moved to Los Angeles in 2007 and has called it home ever since. She earned her master’s degree from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and has published articles with Reuters, Bloomberg, the Los Angeles Business Journal and LA Weekly. Along the way, she picked up awards from the Los Angeles Press Club and Society of Professional Journalists. If you want to get on her bright side, she loves a perfect cup of matcha latte.